Introduction to ISO 14000 Standards

"Our Goal is to work towards

striking a Balance

between 'Resource Use' and 'Resource Availability' , between 'Total Development' and 'Absolute Preservation' .

We align ourselves with

'Conservationist Movement'

and side with proponents of '

Social Ecology' as against 'Deep Ecology'"

--- Engr. Tariq A Majid ---

Ever since the impact of changes in the physical environment on human well-being became an important public issue in the mid-50s, mainly after pollution episodes led to health problems and the disruption of ecological balances, there is growing public pressure on the organization to implement solutions and enforce mitigating measures against pollution and destructive use of resources.

With the increasing concern about maintaining and improving the quality of environment and protection of human health, particularly after the Chernobyl disaster, organizations of all sizes are turning their attention to the potential environmental impacts of their activities, products or services.

ISO 14001:1996 Environmental Management System (EMS) Standard has provided such organizations an opportunity to achieve and demonstrate sound environmental performance by controlling the impact of their activities, products or services on the environment, taking fully into account their environmental policy & objectives, economic strength, business concerns and national/ international regulations.

ISO 14001 provides organizations with the elements of such an effective EMS which can be integrated with other environmental and economic goals. This standard provides order and consistency for organizations to address environmental concerns through allocation of resources, assignment of responsibilities, and on-going evaluation of products, procedures and processes.

ISO 14001 contains the requirement of a sound EMS (in the same way as ISO 9001 contains the requirements of a sound QMS), and is applicable to any organization (public or private enterprise, company, firm, institution or operational unit within an organization).

Demonstration of successful implementation of ISO 14001 standard can be used by an organization to assure interested parties that an appropriate EMS is in place. However it contains only those requirements that may be objectively audited for certification/ registration purposes and/ or self-declaration purposes. The standard also does not address nor includes requirement for aspects of OHS management (ISO 18000 series), though it does not seek to discourage an organization from developing integration of such management systems

It is expected that our non ISO 14000-certified exporters might face hardships in the form of sanctions by the European Union, as recently witnessed by the Tanner industries of Pakistan. It is thus imperative and the need of the hour for all manufacturing and service industries to read the writing on the wall with respect to growing public concerns about environmental; protection, and expedite their decisions to join the elite club of ISO 14001 certified organizations.

Implementation Strategy

In order to implement ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standards in any organization, The House of Quality first determines the scope of work services to be performed and then:

Environmental Audits (Self-accountability) commence as soon as the documentation of all departments is complete. Demonstration is given to the Internal Training team as how to impart training to all the other personnel about the newly developed EMS, and once the system is in place, the Management is assisted in the selection of an accredited registrar for ISO 14001 Certification.

All possible efforts are made by the Consultants to achieve certification in first attempt, however, success can not be guaranteed without Client's fullest participation and co-operation.

Normally the duration of implementation of EMS in a medium sized company takes 10-12 months